Sentient Encounters
by LongTimeFan
Summary: "Flipping the safety on his gun off, Jack moved a half step the right to make sure he had a clear line of sight on the still silent and motionless aliens if he needed it. His instincts told him that something wasn't right here." Rating is to be on the safe side and for language more than anything else. Closest I'll ever likely come to a team story!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction based on the television series Stargate SG1. It is in no way intended to infringe on the copyrights of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/US, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions, SciFi Channel or anyone else who may have legal rights to the characters and settings. I claim no ownership of the characters. Only using them for a short time and will return them in relatively the same shape as when borrowed.

AN: I actually wrote this story almost ten years ago. Recently found it and thought I'd pull it out the mothballs as a thank you for all the kind words and follows for my other stories. Hope you enjoy this one also. For those of you familiar with the Stargate time line, guess this has to be Season 5 because Daniel has not ascended, O'Neill is a Colonel, Carter a Major, Hammond is still in charge of SGC, Janet is alive, and Teal'c still has Junior. Yep, Season 5 it is. Medical info may be totally inaccurate. Chalk it up to creative license. It will likely be posted in three or four parts. And there is some language in here. It's Jack, what can I say.

* * *

Coming out of the bush, Major Samantha Carter buckled the belt of her pants. Sometimes, life would be a lot easier if I were a man, she thought, silently chuckling at the idea. The sound of brush snapping froze her movements and drove the thought from her mind. In the dusky twilight, she could only make out dark forms and shadows in the trees around her. Slowly, she moved her hand so that it rested on her sidearm.

For the past two days, an 'expanded' SG1 had been exploring the planet. Two raw recruits and a Major had joined the team for the extended exploration. They had not yet seen any sign of inhabitants - living or otherwise. Still, they knew that at some point, someone had to have lived there for there to be a Stargate.

Straining to see into the darkness, Sam's shoulders suddenly dropped. "Walters," she said, recognizing the form coming at her. "You could have identified yourself," she snapped.

"Thought you'd figure it out," Major Benjamin Walters drawled as he came to a halt in front of Carter, standing in her path back to camp.

A feeling of uneasiness swept back over Sam at Walters' position. Since they had been on the planet, she had found herself under his probing scrutiny far too many times to believe this encounter had happened by chance. Moving to step around him, she nodded her head and said "Major" indicating she was going to go back to camp.

He shadowed her movements, again blocking her way. "Whoa there. Thought we could spend a little together, you know, get to know each other better," Walters said softly, reaching out to capture a lock of Sam's hair between his fingers.

Yanking her head back to free her hair, Carter had no doubt what he wanted and she had no intention of being a part of it. "Some other time," she said, again trying to step past the six foot two inch major.

"Hey, now, what's the rush? Nobody's gonna miss us for a little while," Walters oozed, moving with her.

The uneasiness that had crawled up Sam's back earlier changed to a full scale alarm sounding in her head. Straightening, she hardened her voice. "Step aside, Major," she snapped, stepping to the side once more.

"No," Walters replied, stepping in front of her again. This time, however, he reached out and dropped his hands onto her shoulders.

Feeling the vise like talons that had latched onto her, Sam quickly evaluated her situation. She was several hundred yards from the camp in unfamiliar territory. Walters had a good seventy-five to one hundred pounds of weight on her, not to mention several inches. And at this particular moment, he was blocking her path to freedom. Dense brush on either side made any chance of running impossible.

Looking up at him, she smiled tightly as she placed her hands on his arms. "I suppose you're right," she murmured taking a step closer. Seeing a slow smile come onto his face, Sam drove her knee into his groin as hard as she could.

Feeling the gush of air explode from his mouth, Carter clutched her hands together and drove them upward catching Walters under the chin. Staggering back a few steps, he instinctively released her and grabbed his groin as he fell to his knees, gagging and gasping for breath.

Bounding through the brush to skirt around the downed man, Sam paused as she made it back to the path. "When I tell you no, I mean no," Carter snapped, before heading back to the camp.

On his hands and knees in the darkness, Walters mentally cursed the blonde woman and vowed to get her back. He was so caught up in his misery that he failed to realize he was being watched until a figure silently appeared in the path ahead of him. Before Walters could reach for a gun to defend himself, he felt a staff weapon on his back.

"The next time you lay a hand on MajorCarter without her permission, I shall remove it," Teal'c vowed before walking away.

* * *

Watching as his second in command reentered the camp, Colonel Jack O'Neill frowned at the tenseness of her movements. Silently, he sipped his coffee and watched her as she paced the small area behind the tents. He knew that walk. It was how she released the surge of adrenaline that came from a physical confrontation.

Debating if he should go see what had happened to her, O'Neill decided against it for the time being. Whatever had happened was not a threat to the rest of them. Of that he was sure. If it had been, Sam would have told them when she came back. Instead, he made a mental note of who was missing from the shared camp.

Movement on the edge of the camp drew his attention. "Teal'c," he said, nodding to the Jaffa warrior as he appeared from the darkness.

"I saw no sign of inhabitants, O'Neill," the warrior reported. When he saw O'Neill's acknowledgement, he moved a slight ways away from the fire and sat down where he could watch his companions. Covertly, he watched Carter to make sure she was unharmed from the encounter he had just witnessed.

Frowning, O'Neill savagely tossed the remainder of his coffee to the ground. Damn. Teal's had just confirmed his earlier suspicion. Whatever had happened to Carter had been caused by someone from the SG team. Since everyone but Walters and Teal'c had been in camp at the time, that definitely narrowed the possibilities as to the cause. He couldn't see Teal'c causing that kind of anger in Sam, so that left Walters.

Anger flashed through O'Neill. He has seen how Major Walters had been ogling Carter since their time on the planet. He and the others had subtly, and not so subtly, told him to knock it off several times. Walters would throw out some, in Jack's opinion, a lame ass apology or laugh and say he hadn't meant anything by his comments and looks. O'Neill hadn't bought Walters "I'm innocent" routine and had little doubt that the errant, and still missing Major, had made his move on Sam.

"Jack?"

Startling, O'Neill looked up at the archeologist sitting a short ways away. Focusing his eyes, he saw the questioning look on Daniel Jackson's face. Shaking his head to tell Daniel that it wasn't important right now, he blew out a breath. There hadn't been any gunshots so Sam hadn't shot him at least. Still, he supposed that he should send someone to look for the sonofabitch. A small smile crept onto Jack's face as the word 'eventually' flashed in his mind.

Tensing, he realized that Sam was no longer in sight. Scanning the area and not seeing her, he glanced back at Daniel. "Where'd Carter go?"

"In the tent," Jackson replied. "Guess she's tired and going to turn in."

Glancing at this watch, Jack realized it was later than he thought. He couldn't get use to the fact that the planet had shorter hours of darkness than earth.

Movement in Jack's peripheral vision drew his attention. He covertly watched as a form tried to slip unnoticed into the other side of the camp. Mentally smiling, he watched as the man slowly crawled into his tent, being careful not to jostle too much. Jack knew Sam had nailed Walters good by the way he was moving.

A short time later, Jack sat down on his bedroll. The planet was warm enough to sleep without cover. They had set up the tents in case of rain more than anything else. Glancing toward the empty bedroll and occupied tent nearest to him, he saw that she had at least left the tent unzipped and the flap thrown back to that some air could circulate. in the dim light, he could see that Sam was curled into a ball. It was not a good sign. Sliding across the bedroll, he scooted to the end closest to her. Listening for a moment, he confirmed from her breathing that she was awake. "What to talk about it?" he finally asked, purposely keeping his voice low so that it would not carry far.

Silence met his question. It did however trigger Daniel's curiosity. Jackson paused in removing his shoes and looked questioningly at O'Neill. "Something wrong?"

Not answering Daniel, Jack tried again. "I don't know what all happened, but if it's any consolation, he'll be sore for days," he stated, dryly.

Jack's comment brought a small smile to Sam's lips, but she continued to refuse his offer. She appreciated his concern but she really didn't want to talk about what had happened. Maybe tomorrow she told herself.

"What happened to Sam? And who's 'he'?" Daniel asked again, concern lacing his words. He hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary occurring this evening.

"MajorCarter was attacked by MajorWalters," Teal'c announced from his bedroll by the opening.

"Attacked?" Jack repeated, shock, and a definite tone of you'd better be exaggerating, evident in his voice.

"Sam?" Daniel said again, his voice blending with the Colonel's.

"Teal'c!" Carter cried out in a loud hiss, shooting upward, her voice drowning out the others. She couldn't believe that he had witnessed the incident, let alone revealed it.

"Did he not place his hands upon you and cause you pain?" Teal'c asked bluntly, unsure of why she was objecting to his description.

"Well...," Sam paused, her eyes darting between the men watching her. With all three waiting for her next words, she could hardly continue with her stance that she didn't want to discuss it. "Technically... yes...," she finally continued. At the outraged glares crossing O'Neill's and Jackson's faces, she quickly interjected, "He didn't hurt me."

"But you just told Teal'c...," Jack snapped back.

"Okay, fine, he didn't hurt me very much," Sam conceded. "I got away from him before he could do any real damage." When Jack moved to get up, Sam called, "Sir, leave it alone please."

Stopping and turning back to Sam, O'Neill waited for an explanation why he should not have Walters placed under arrest and hauled back to the SGC.

* * *

Filling up his coffee cup, Jack covertly watched the occupants of the camp begin their morning duties of breaking camp. He should be helping, but he really needed this cup of coffee and a few minutes to himself. He hadn't slept much during the night. He had been too pissed and Sam had been too restless.

Not that he blamed her any. They had all been a little jumpy about unusual sounds. Their quiet harmony and peace had been broken by Walters intrusion on Sam. At one point during the night when she had been especially restless, she had crawled outside to curl up on a bedroll. He had rolled onto his stomach and laid his hand on her arm to get her attention so he could ask if she was okay. She had nearly jumped out of her skin. Whispering a hasty apology, Jack had mentally kicked himself. He should have known better. Her quiet, shaky laugh and murmured "thought he'd come back" only made Jack feel worse. Still, it had helped some that she latched onto his arm and didn't let go, even when she eventually went to sleep. Whether it was giving or receiving comfort, he wasn't sure. Nor did he care.

When her breathing had finally evened out, Jack slowly let out the breath he had been holding. He knew she had her reasons for not wanting him to confront Walters and knock his teeth in, but that didn't make the urge to do so any less overpowering. Shifting slightly, he spotted movement in his periphial vision. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw both Teal'c and Daniel were sitting up.

"She okay?" Daniel whispered, not wanting to wake Sam now that she had finally given in to sleep.

"SamanthaCarter will be fine DanielJackson," Teal'c assured the archeologist. "I will make sure of it," the warrior vowed.

Grimacing at the memory, Jack took another sip of his coffee. Not only was he going to have to keep an eye on Carter, he was also going to have watch Teal'c to make sure the Jaffa didn't use Walters for a battering ram. Then there was that pesky little itch in his own gut to beat the living shit out of the Major. This situation was intolerable all the way around. It wasn't something he was willing to let continue.

"Walters," Colonel O'Neill called out to the object of his rumination, his eyes never leaving the coffee swirling in his coffee cup as he gently moved it. When the summoned officer appeared before him, Jack slowly stood up from his position by the fire. Looking appraisingly at the officer, he noted the dark bruise along his jaw. "Hurt yourself?" the Colonel finally asked casually, motioning with his cup toward Walters' jaw.

To his credit, Walters didn't miss a breath. "Ran into something, sir."

"I see," Jack paused, looking up and down the soldier again. "Funny thing is, Major Carter has a bruise on her hand. Those two things wouldn't have anything to do with each other, would they?" the Colonel asked lightly. To someone who had no idea of what had happened the previous evening, the Colonel's questioning may have seemed benign. Those in the know, or who bothered to take a closer look, could tell that the innocuous tone was offset by the hard set of his eyes.

Reading the anger in the other man's face, Walters swallowed, averting his gaze. He hadn't counted on Carter running to the Colonel. He had heard the rumors of O'Neill's black op days and had no desire to 'test' them first hand. When he finally spoke, he stated, "I think, sir, you already know the answer to that."

Taking a step closer to the subordinate, O'Neill shoved his face into Walter's. "Oh, I know exactly what happened," he hissed, his voice low so as to not carry to the others around them. "I'm only going to say this once, so I suggest you listen and you listen good. If you _ever_ lay a hand on her, or _any_ other officer again like that, there won't be enough of you left to sweep into a box to send home to your family. Do we understand each other, Major?"

Snapping his eyes at the older man, anger flared in Walters. Without thinking, he spouted, "Don't worry. Your pit bull over there," jutting his chin toward Teal'c a short distance away, "already threatened to cut my hand off if I touch your precious Major again."

It was all Jack could do to not react to the snide derision in Walters' voice. Smiling evilly, Jack said, "You're lucky he gave you a warning. He usually doesn't." Seeing a small flicker of uncertainty cross Walter's face, Jack stepped back a little ways and raised his voice so the others could hear. "Take Nixon and Coats and head west, toward those mountains. Check in at four hour intervals. If you haven't found any sign of civilization in the next two days, head toward the Stargate. We'll meet you there in four days," O'Neill snapped.

The Colonel's orders were interrupted by a "Uh...Jack." A few seconds later, he heard Daniel say it again, only louder. "JACK!"

The urgency in Jackson's voice finally penetrated Jack's anger. Tearing his eyes from Walters, O'Neill spun to see what the archeologist wanted only to stop in shock when his eyes fell on a line of beings on the outskirts of the camp. Turning his head, he could tell that the humanoid forms draped in hooded gowns surrounded the entire area. "Everybody take it easy," O'Neill ordered, seeing the restless shifting of the SGC personnel. Taking one step away from the Major behind him, Jack said, "Well, this is rather unexpected. Daniel, do you want to do the honors?"

"Hello," Daniel said, taking a tentative step towards the newcomers. "My name is Daniel Jackson. We are explorers. We mean you no harm."

Flipping the safety on his gun off, Jack moved a half step the right to make sure he had a clear line of sight on the still silent and motionless aliens if he needed it. His instincts told him that something wasn't right here.

"We have come through the Stargate... the chapa'ai," Jackson continued, gesturing towards the portal on the far skyline. "We would like to learn more about you..." His words were cut off by the sound of a loud humming noise erupting from the newcomers. Daniel instinctively ducked to cover his ears from the loud clamor around him.

Staggering back, O'Neill watched as the SGC personnel began to crumble under the onslaught of noise. Falling to his own knees, he felt the darkness surround him. The last thing he remembered was the feel of the sound vibrating in his head and chest.

* * *

AN2: Hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed ch 1! I know I owe some responses and I will send them this weekend. I do appreciate the feedback.

* * *

Consciousness slowly crept back upon Jack O'Neill. As it did, he took a moment to assess his own wellbeing and situation. From what he could tell, he wasn't tied down and he didn't have any new holes in him. That was at least a start. He did however, have one helluva headache and his weapons were gone. Rolling over slowly, he sat up and scanned the area around him.

He was in a dimly lit cave, about double the size of the gate room at the SGC. The floors and walls appeared to be made of rock. Slapping the floor beside him, he shook his hand to ease the pain he has just caused. Rubbing the side of his hand, he scanned the walls for some way of escape. He could see no fissures or openings. Nor could he see what was casting the low light staving off the pitch black darkness usually associated with caves. A nearby moan brought his attention towards the floor. Straining his eyes, he could barely make out in the forms of his teammates in the shadows.

"Hey," Jack called, coughing to clear his throat as he staggered upright. "Everybody all right?"

The forms around him began to shift positions. From their slow progress, Jack knew they were making the same assessment as he did when he had awakened. Taking several steps toward them, he was abruptly stopped by an invisible wall of energy. "Ow," he hissed, trying to ignore the sharp tingles in his body caused by the contact.

"Look out," O'Neill ordered. "There's some sort of force shield around here," he said, waving his hand to indicate the area between himself and the others.

"There's one over here, too," Jackson announced from Jack's left, shaking the hand he had been using to 'test the air' between himself and Teal'c.

"Carter?"

Shaking her head, Sam continued to walk around the area. "I'm not finding one," she answered slowly, moving closer to Teal'c. Stopping bes ide him, she shrugged. "Guess we got put in the same cage," she said, smiling up to the Jaffa.

"So it seems," Teal'c agreed.

"Walters? Coats? Nixon? What about you three?" O'Neill called out. He could barely make out their forms on the opposite side of the cave.

Lieutenant Nancy Coats moved cautiously around the area. "I'm not finding any barrier, sir."

Moving closer to Coats, Walters was abruptly stopped. "What the...," he snapped. "Coats, didn't you just walk through here?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, retracing her steps. Not encountering any resistance, she stopped beside the Major, confusion evident on her face. "I don't understand..."

"Nixon?"

"I've got one," Charlie Nixon called out, rubbing the part of his arm that had been shocked.

"Lieutenant, see if you can walk towards Nixon," Carter ordered, moving a few steps closer to watch her progress in the dim lighting. When the young officer stopped beside her teammate unhindered, Sam nodded her head. "Nixon, try to move towards Major Walt ers."

Nixon made it about five steps before he bounced off an energy barrier. Watching, Sam nodded again. Turning, she tested the hypothesis forming in her head by moving toward Daniel. Stopping beside the archeologist, she looked at her CO. "It seems, sir, that Coats and I can move freely," she said.

"Sweet," O'Neill commented. "See if you can find a way out to shut these things off," gesturing toward the invisible wall, "and get us out of here, would ya?"

"Yes, sir," Sam answered, nodding toward Coats to indicate she should help her search the cave for an exit. The women had made it within a few steps of each other before they were forced backward.

"Whoa," Carter gasped, getting a new appreciation for the pain the men had experienced earlier.

"Not totally free," Jackson quipped.

Rubbing her shoulder, Sam cautiously stepped forward toward the female officer. She immediately stopped when she felt the tingle of the barrier. Turning, she freely moved toward O'Neill, stopping beside him. ¯ "Polar specific," she blurted out looking at the Colonel. Seeing a blank look on her commander's face, she continued. "Like the ends of a magnet. Two positives or two negatives repeal, but turn one around, they can be put together. "

"In this case, it is gender specific," Teal'c added.

"Exactly. Coats and I can move freely as long as we don't get near each other. Likewise, each of you can move closer to one of us," Sam said, gesturing towards Lieutenant Coats, "but not each other."

* * *

The sound of screaming seeped through O'Neill's brain and snapped him from a restless sleep. Problem was, he didn't remember going to sleep. Sitting up, he quickly ran his eyes around the dim prison counting bodies. When he only counted five, he swore under his breath. "Where's Nixon?" he snapped coming to his feet.

The others rubbed their eyes as they jumped to their feet. Confusion and concern were obvious on their faces as the sound of the screaming penetrated their awareness.

"I don't know," Daniel said hesitantly, "and I don't remember going to sleep."

"Sedation?" Coats hypothesized.

Moving as close as he could to the others, O'Neill willed his stomach to settle. Across the room, he noticed Carter bracing herself on the wall. "Carter?"

"Fine," she answered pulling herself upright. "Just a little dizzy."

For her teammates, given her penchant for bad reactions to various medications, the dizziness confirmed in their minds that they had been drugged.

"Bad?" Daniel called, his attention now on Sam also.

"I'll be alright," she answered, trying to stop the rolling of her stomach that accompanied each spin.

As unnerving as the screams were, the tension in the cells increased as they abruptly stopped. Time seemed to stand still as the SGC personnel strained to hear anything that might tell them the fate of their teammate.

None of them quite knew what happened but suddenly they were again picking themselves off of the floor. Only this time, Nixon was once again in the room with them.

"Nixon," the Colonel snapped coming to his feet and taking an instinctive step towards the returning man.

Looking wide eyed around the room as if looking for an escape, it took the young airman several moments to realize he was back with the others. It took him a few more minutes to find his voice to respond. "Colonel?" he stuttered, the remnants of panic still evident in his large unfocused eyes.

Forcing back her own discomfort, Carter moved beside Nixon. She and Coats were the only on es who would be able to get close enough to assist him if he was hurt. One look at Coats told her the young officer was still too spooked to be of any use right now.

As she neared Nixon, she could tell he was in shock. Looking past the Lieutenant towards Colonel O'Neill, she read in his posture that he had made the same assessment. Receiving a nod to continue, she moved to place herself in front of Nixon.

"Lieutenant, look at me." When he finally seemed to be aware of her presence, Carter continued. "Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked him, running appraising eyes over him to ensure there weren't obvious physical injuries.

"I...I don't think so," Nixon replied slowly, as recognition appeared in his face. "Gawd," he muttered before sinking to the ground as his legs gave away. Obediently, he didn't resist when Carter shoved his head between his knees.

"Nixon, report," Major Walters snapped from behind the duo.

"Give him a minute," Sam snapped back at the o fficer. It didn't take much to realize that Nixon was in no shape for Walters' callous tactics. Whatever had happened had shaken the young officer to the core.

When his breathing had finally settled into some semblance of normal, Carter moved her hand so he could lift his head up. When he did, he shot her a grateful, but embarrassed, look before nodding that he was alright.

Coming to her feet, Sam grabbed Charlie's arm and brought him up with her. "Lieutenant Nixon," she said evenly. "Colonel O'Neill would like to know what happened to you." Her words served to kick in his training and ground the officer.

Taking in a deep breath and blowing it out, Charlie turned to face the team leader. Although he had made a valiant effort to pull himself together, his voice was still shaky and uncertain. "Colonel, sir, my apologies. I was in some room... it looked like a lab of some kind. There were these grotesque looking... beings... there. Their skin was half eaten away from their bodies, like they ¬ had been dipped in acid or something." Nixon shuddered at the memory. "They had me tied to a table. There were other tables there, with people on them. The beings," Nixon paused and visibly swallowed. When he continued, his voice was strained and hoarse. "They were cutting the flesh off of the others... while they were alive... they were screaming so loud..."

"Charlie," Daniel said, hoping to divert him from sinking too far back into the memory. "Did they say anything? Ask you anything?"

Shaking his head, Charlie chanced a quick look at Jackson. "They didn't seem to want to know anything. Leastwise, I didn't hear them say anything. They were clicking and humming, not talking like you and I do."

"Great," Jack muttered. Seems they had fallen into some wacko's hands. Uncommunicative wackos at that.

"Lieutenant, did you think these were the same beings that we saw at the camp?" Carter asked.

"I don't know," Charlie answered ;, a frown of deep thought on his face. "They could be, I guess. They seemed to be the same height as the creatures at base camp."

"It would make sense," Daniel said. "The cloaks could be so they don't scare the visitors." Jackson gestured to make quotation marks around the word visitors.

Pursing his lips, Jack wasn't any happier with the thought that at least they were only dealing with one set of aliens instead of two. That didn't make the situation any better, especially given that he didn't know if they were going to be able to even communicate with them if they did get a chance. Glancing at his watch, he realized there were several hours before dawn. "We can't do anything til these guys decide to show themselves. In the meantime, let's try to get some rest. Walters, you take watch."

Jack waited until everyone had settled back down before easing himself back to the hard floor. He really didn't think anyone was going to willingly go to sleep right now given the recent events

He knew he wasn't.

* * *

Handing Carter a cup of water, Teal'c bowed his head to acknowledge her murmured thanks. After an uneventful half of day, the group had been sedated and had awakened to find that their captors had brought food and water to them. Although Nixon identified it as the same type of fruit that he had collected to be taken back to the SGC for analysis, they still had no way of knowing if it was fit for consumption. Teal'c had volunteered to test it before the others consumed it. As his symbiote had given no indication it was harmful, he was rationing out the supplies.

When Sam refused to take the food offered to her, Teal'c ra ised an eyebrow in concern. "Are you still unwell, MajorCarter?"

"I'll be okay, Teal'c," Sam answered quietly. "I just don't think I'm up to eating right now." She had no doubt that she has spiked a fever to go along with the pain and nausea in her mid-section. Forcing a quick smile, she tried to reassure him. "Maybe later."

"As you wish," Teal'c acquiesced. Standing and moving closer to O'Neill, he stopped at the barrier between them. Placing the food and water at his feet, he nodded to his friend.

"She okay?" O'Neill asked quietly, nodding his head towards Carter sitting on the other side of the enclosure. He hadn't missed the way she had moved herself away from the others, or the fact that she hadn't taken any food from the Jaffa.

"I believe MajorCarter is having trouble removing the substance that the creatures are using to sedate us from her system," Teal'c offered. "It is most uncomfortable until my symbiote is able to remove it."

"It isn't affecting the rest of us too badly," Jack observed, running his eyes over the rest of the group. They all seemed to be eating and drinking without hesitation.

"Perhaps it is the presence of the symbiotes in my and MajorCarter's bodies that is causing the difficulties."

Frowning, Jack nodded his head in agreement. It would not be the first time that the protein marker in Carter's blood from her blending with Jolinar had caused problems. Worse, there wasn't a damn thing that he could do to make it better for her either.

* * *

Toying with the lace on his boot, Jack frowned. By his reckoning, they had missed four check-ins with the SGC. Two days of sitting and waiting, interspersed with getting randomly knocked out. He just wished he knew how they were doing it.

By process of elimination, it had to be a gas of some sort. Nothing else could explain the fact that one moment everyone will be fine, the next thing they knew, they were picking themselves up from flat on their backs. It was a tricky one though as it had no odor or taste that any of them could detect. It would give them a hellavu of a tactical advantage if they could lay their hand on some, Jack thought.

Trouble was, right now, it was giving someone else that advantage.

Looking around the room, Jack assessed the status of the team. Daniel was with Sam, making sure she was okay. Although she hadn't said anything, they were afraid that the gas was doing nasty things to her system.

Nixon was pacing his small area, ignoring the glares of Major Walters everytime he came close to the barrier between them. Teal' c looked like he was asleep, but O'Neill knew he wasn't. And Coats...

Jack sighed. The aliens had taken her several hours ago. He just hoped they would return her unharmed like they had Nixon. If they were real lucky, the aliens would give her some indication of what they wanted or what they had planned.

Further thoughts on the subject ceased at Jack slumped forward. Opening his eyes a little time later, he found his face pressed into the ground. Pushing himself upwards, he saw that Sam was sitting already with her head between her knees. The others were just beginning to stir.

Shuffling behind Jack brought him fully awake and upright. Spinning, he spotted Lieutenant Coats sitting slowly upright.

"You alright?" O'Neill asked Coats, stepping closer to the obviously confused woman.

"Yes, sir," she replied haltingly. "Just not sure how I got here, sir." Gratefully, she accepted the Colonel's help to regain her feet. Nodding her thanks, she took a few tentative steps toward the center of the room.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sam asked, swallowing hard to keep the contents of her stomach inside of her.

"I was in a meadow. There was bright sunshine... a cool breeze... birds singing."

"Remember how you got there?" Daniel inquired, dusting himself off.

Shaking her head, Coats looked even more alarmed. "I just remember being here and then there." Shaking her head helplessly, she laughed abruptly. "I had just started to believe that this had all been a dream or something and then..." Coats trailed off as she gestured to the surroundings.

"Yeah," Jack said, turning to Jackson and Carter. "Any ideas on what the hell's going on?"

Looking at each other briefly, the duo shook their heads.

"Virtual reality, like the game keeper?" Daniel offered. Sam shrugged as if to say it could be possible.

"Uh huh," Jack answered, turning so that he could speak to all of the personnel.

"Okay, listen up. Next one they take, try to figure some way to talk to those Ewok looking things. Or, a way out," O'Neill ordered.

"I believe you mean Jawas," Teal'c corrected. "Ewoks were the creatures that looked like bears."

Glaring at the big man, Jack waved his hand. "Jawas...ewoks... whatever. Just see if you can talk to them."

Leaning closer to his teammate, Nixon whispered, "Jawas?"

"Jawas," Coats confirmed, amusement in her voice. "Sand people, short, brown robes...the junk traders in Star Wars," she offered, looking over her shoulder to see if it had connected.

"Jawas," Nixon repeated, still not sure, but deciding he needed to act like he did.

* * *

AN2: No copyright infringement intended for referencing Star Wars characters. Just couldn't resist!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story. I truly appreciate it. There is potentially offensive language in this section so please be warned. Thanks.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Sam squinted at the sunlight glaring through the hut she was lying in. Jerking to her feet, she stared around her in confusion. She swore she had been held captive a little while ago in a dark cave-like structure. Rubbing her still aching head, she frowned. The last thing she remembered was that Lieutenant Coats had been returned and that she herself had laid down to ease the throbbing in her head.

Now she was in a small village.

Slowly coming out of the hut, Carter looked carefully at the dirt and grass covered hovels around her. She had seen similar huts before, but they had found none of them during their stay on the planet.

The huts were grouped in a large circle. Near each hut, a small fire was burning, some with steaming pots on them.

Where ever she was, she obviously was not alone.

The thought both comforted and alarmed her. Either she, and hopefully the others, had been found and helped by someone or the captive thing had been a dream. She wouldn't know for sure until she found someone to ask.

A third possibility nagged at the back of Sam's mind as she began to explore the village.

None of this was real.

Pausing at the thought, she looked hard at her surroundings again. Not seeing any obvious projectors, fluctuations, or other visual anomalies, Sam tentatively reached out to feel the nearest structure. She was surprised when the texture of the material under her fingers felt like straw. Moving over to a fire, she held her hand over the flame, quickly pulling it back as she felt the heat radiating from the flames.

If this was an illusion, it was sure convincing, she thought.

"You are awake. Good. I had begun to think you would not do so."

Sam turned to face the old woman speaking to her. "Hello," she said cautiously, not feeling any threat from the inhabitant. "My name is Major Samantha Carter. Where am I?"

"You are here, with me," the old woman replied, a smiling tugging at her face. "I am called Nina." Putting down the wood she was carrying, Nina stood back up. "Your tay'nacs said they would be back for you."

"Tay'nacs?" Sam repeated hesitantly.

"Tay'nacs... your protectors, the ones who brought you here," Nina explained. Still seeing confusion on Sam's face, she smiled. "The ones called O'Neill and Teal'c ."

"Where are they?" Sam asked excitedly, looking around the small encampment as other residents started to come into view.

"They will return," Nina said confidently. "They said they had to retrieve Nixon, Coat, Walter, and Daniel, whatever these may be," she finished, obviously not recognizing the names.

"They're the rest of my team," Carter explained. "We were being held in a cage," Sam muttered, rubbing her forehead and wishing the pounding in it would stop. "How long have I been here?"

"Several of the sun movements. The sap of the zee plant can be most powerful, make you see things that are not there," the old woman soothed.

"Zee plant?"

Gesturing towards a nearby plant, Nina nodded. "Zee plant."

Taking a step closer, Sam frowned trying to remember where she could have possibly come into contact with it. Looking closely at the fern like plant, recognition came to her. This was the plant that had surrounded her during her confrontation with Walters. She had climbed through it to escape him.

"So, we were not...," Sam stuttered, still trying to grasp what was occurring.

"You have been with us," Nina said softly, gesturing toward the others around her. "You are safe here." Seeing some acceptance of her words on Sam's face, Nina smiled. "You must be hungry. You have slept for a long time."

Smiling tightly, Sam shook her head. "Maybe in a little while. My stomach is still a little upset."

"As you wish," the old woman replied, moving off to continue her chores.

Looking at the routine activity going on around her, Sam felt lost. She had no idea where she was in relation to the Stargate or anything else. Worse, she had no way of finding out as she could see none of her gear.

"Excuse me, Nina," Carter called, hurrying to catch up with her. "Where are my things? My vest, pack," adding a silent 'and gun' in her mind.

"They took them away," the old woman replied as a matter of fact.

"Who?" Sam questioned, tensing.

"Your tay'nacs," Nina said.

Frowning, Sam shook her head. The Colonel would never leave her with a group of aliens unarmed, not if he had a choice.

Seeing the disbelief in the younger woman, she added, "It had to be. None of what you possessed is allowed here."

"The one called O'Neill said you would be alarmed," Nina offered, amusement in her voice.

"NINA! NINA!" a young woman screamed running towards them. "They come!"

Spinning, Nina grabbed Carter's arm. "You must hide!" she cried, trying to pull Sam towards the nearest hut. Sam followed instinctively, unsure of what was happening. "Use the hides, cover yourself, " the old woman snapped, shoving her inside.

Stumbling, Sam crawled under the covers. Silence descended.

After what seemed to be an eternity to Carter, she crawled out of the hut. No one was in sight. Coming upright, Sam wished with all her heart that she had her P90. Hell, at this point, she would settle for a pistol.

The sound of gunfire a short distance away brought any further ruminations on the situation to an end. Trotting towards the opposite side of the village where the gunfire had come from, Sam eased herself around the side of the last hut trying to see what was going on behind it. Seven men in black uniforms had the inhabitants of the village surrounded. The intruders had guns trained on the twenty or so residents.

"Tell us where the woman with blond hair is at," one of the combatants yelled at the captives. "We know you are helping her."

"We know not of who you speak," Nina threw back, defiantly holding her head up at the man holding a gun in her face. "You are the only one here who does not belong."

Her valiant words where met with a gunstock in the face.

"Silence!" the apparent leader snarled. "The one called Walters told us she was here."

Instinctively, Sam froze at the man's words. She had started to spring to the woman's defense but was halted by what she heard. It could only mean her teammates had been captured. Why she wasn't found earlier, she didn't know. But there was no way she was going to just stand by and let these people be hurt if she could stop it.

She just wished she knew who these men in black where.

Shifting slightly, her foot sent a small pebble skidding across the ground. Swearing under her breath, she yanked herself back, hoping the sound had not carried to the men looking for her. Chancing a quick glance, she saw that it had as one of the strangers was moving her direction.

Ducking inside the hut, Sam waited. When the man moved past the opening, the Major eased quiet ly outside and picked up the biggest rock she could find. Slipping behind the intruder, she slammed the rock on the base of his head as hard as she could. Carter was thankful when the man dropped silently to the ground. Commandeering the gun from the unconscious man, she moved back to see what the others were doing.

Looking around the hovel, she silently counted the men again. Realizing that one was missing, she tensed and was going to check the area behind her, but never made it. The feel of a gun barrel poking her in the back halted all movement.

"Hand it back, nice and easy," the man ordered.

Doing as she was told, Sam stepped into the open where she was in sight of all the people. "Who are you?" she asked, moving forward until she was in front of the man who was asking for her earlier.

"It doesn't matter who we are," the man snarled, reaching out and grabbing Sam's arm. Spinning her around, he quickly fastened some sort of restraint on her wrists. "All you need to know is that because of you, these people have to die."

"That's not necessary," Sam blurted out. "They don't have anything to do with my being here," she tried again, trying to yank away from the man holding her back. Her struggles earned her a forearm alongside her head. As she crumbled, the last thing she saw was the men stepping back and opening fire.

* * *

Coming back to her senses, Sam heaved herself to her feet. Any other time, the sharp pains jabbing through her mid-section into her back would be enough to make her stop and reevaluate her situation. Right now, she was not capable of doing that because in front of her, all she could see was the bloody bodies of the people who had just been slaughtered.

"Sam," Daniel yelled, regaining consciousness and his feet before the others. "You alright?" he called cautiously, seeing the anger and anguish radiate from her as he neared.

"Gawd," Carter cried in anguish, seeing the scene replay in her mind. The pounding in her head seemed to increase with each heartbeat. Raising her hand to her head, she staggered. "They're gone... they killed them all," she whimpered.

"Carter?" O'Neill called, gaining his feet across the compound. He was concerned because of her obvious distress.

Around them, Walters, Nixon, Coats, and Teal'c slowly rose, confused as to what was actually going on.

"Sam, no one died," Daniel said cautiously, moving closer to her. "You're back with us now. You're okay."

"No, no... NO!" Sam muttered. Her final word was emphasized by a jerk to shake Daniel's restraining hand from her arm. Staggering away from Jackson, she fought against the pounding in her head and the churning of her stomach. She had to get away from this.

"MajorCarter," Teal'c soothed, stepping forward to block her path. "There has been no death here. What you have seen was not real."

Stopping at Teal'c's' words, Sam struggled to believe him. "I saw it," she choked out, "they killed them all. Walters told them where I was...," she stuttered, confusion now mixing with the other emotions already stirring in her.

"It wasn't real, Sam," Daniel countered, throwing a worried look at Teal'c.

"At least those people aren't stuck in there with a raving lunatic," Walters snapped dryly as an aside under his breath.

Hearing the comment, Carter spun. "You asshole!" Sam screamed, launching herself at the Major. The attack caught the Major off guard and drove him backwards. The force of Sam landing on him pushed the air from his lungs.

"You pathetic, fucking ass hole," Sam shouted in his face, leaning her forearm on his throat. "They were innocent women... old men... babies," she hissed, shifting her hands to his shoulders and raising him and shoving him back down with each word. "And... they... died... because... of... you!"

"Ah, hell," O'Neill snapped, wincing as the fields zapped him as he made his way toward the two officers in a heap. Mentally he reminded himself to cut Daniel and Teal'c some slack on the next patrol because they had stepped back so he could make his way across the room.

"Carter!" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her backward. To his surprise she spun on him in an attack posture. Stepping back quickly, he held up his hands and evened his tone. "Stand down, Major. Walters has been here with us the entire time."

Realizing she was about to attack her superior officer, Sam fought to bring her raging emotions under control. In her mind, all she could see was an endless stream of pictures of the people she had just seen die. Chest heaving, she struggled to remember that the men around her were not the ones responsible for the killings.

"Carter?" O'Neill said her name again, unsure of the flurry of emotions he saw on her face. He did note that her hands had dropped to her sides, but were still clenched in fists. As he waited for some indication from her that she was aware of who was in front of her, he saw a sudden change in her demeanor.

Loosing the battle against her rolling stomach, Sam lurched across the room and fell to her knees as the heaves began. Tears ran down her face as she struggled to breathe and stop the convulsions coursing through her body. Vaguely, she felt hands pulling her backward.

Wrapping one arm around her waist, Jack captured Sam's head with the other and forced it back to his collarbone. "Breathe, dammit," he snapped, concerned at the bluish tinge around her lips. As she drew a deep raged breath, it sounded to him like she had just broken through water after a near drowning. Feeling the heat, coughs and tremors of reaction still running through her, he pulled her tighter. "I've got you. You're safe. Just focus on your breathing," he murmured in her ear, trying to calm her. "Breathe."

Jack would never admit it to anyone else, but he was trying to obey his own words as much as he hoped Carter was. The events that had just took place had shaken him. He had seen her in many situations; he had never seen her loose control like this.

Whatever happened to her was not good.

* * *

AN2: Okay *I* want to shoot Walters and I created him!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: And the final part. Remember when I mentioned medical stuff might not be correct and to chalk it up to creative license if not? Yep, this is the chapter that applies to. Also, oblique reference to Divide and Conquer. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Waking, but not opening her eyes, Sam tried to identify what she was hearing. Finally recognizing the rhythmic snapping of the cover on Jack's watch, Sam mentally smiled. He never could stand to wait, she thought.

Shivering, the reality of her deteriorating health weighed heavily on her mind. With each sedation, it was getting worse.

Her earlier bout of vomiting had only served to further dehydrate her and cause already sore muscles to scream even louder. Additionally, the low grade fever she had spiked had returned with a vengeance.

Although she had everyone's jackets to cover up with, the chills racking her body were still present. She knew it was only a matter of time before the fever again caused her to throw off the makeshift covers and the pain in her stomach would again intensify.

At least her brain was clearer. Perhaps the water that Jack had forced down her had done some good after all. She knew it wouldn't last.

Giving up on the pretense of sleeping, Sam moved her head enough to watch Jack as he sat beside her. She knew he had to be racking his brain for some way out of their current predicament without loosing anyone. Trouble was, that was probably not going to happen given the fact that every time they were sedated, her body lost more of its ability to function.

Ironically, the gas also seemed to loosing its effectiveness on her with each dose. She noticed that she was gaining consciousness significantly earlier than the others. Vaguely she remembered something Janet had said once about how some drugs become less effective if they build up in a person's system. This would explain a great deal if what they were using was acting in a similar manner.

And it meant that in the very near future, the level in her body would become lethal.

The thought depressed her further. It wasn't that she was afraid to die. She was more concerned over what it would do to the man deep in thought beside her.

"You're gonna break that again," she observed quietly, wanting to find some way to divert her current thinking and wipe away the frown on his face.

"It'll give Siler something to do," Jack replied flashing her a half smile and dropping his hand away from the watch. "Thought you were sleeping."

Shifting on the hard floor to ease the pressure on her hip, she sighed. "Getting soft I guess."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jack said, taking the opportunity to shift himself a little also. "How you feeling?"

"If you get the chance to get the others out of here, you have to leave me," Carter said softly to Jack.

Starting, O'Neill's eyes snapped to Sam's. Her words told him that she was sicker than she was letting on. "If we go, we ALL go," he responded adamantly in a hushed tone so as to not wake anyone else.

"That may not happen," Carter said softly, her eyes relaying that she knew how hard of a statement that was for him to hear. "You can't risk their lives to save me, Jack."

Turning his head away from her, he stared in the darkness. He knew she was right, but it cut at his soul to think about sacrificing her. He couldn't leave her before when she was in danger. What made her think he could do it now?

Because it wasn't just him this time, he mentally answered his own question. She knew it and so did he. That didn't make it any easier to consider however.

Glancing back at her with a tight smile, he reached over and pulled his coat higher on her shoulder. "We'll figure something out so it doesn't come to that," he reassured her. Dropping his hand from her body, he was glad when it was captured by her hand. Intertwining his fingers in hers, he murmured, "Get some rest."

* * *

"Ouch," Daniel yelled, stopping his progress to take Sam some water to drink . She had had a rough couple of hours as her fever had again spiked. Daniel had taken over sitting with her when Jack began to pace the small area in frustration. He had walked across the room to get his share of water for her and was returning when he was shocked by a force field. "What the hell..." he murmured, tentatively putting his hand up and moving forward. When he felt the tingle begin, he quickly stopped.

"Guys," he called over his shoulder. "I think the rules have changed."

"Huh?" Nixon asked moving forward, only to be zapped when he came into proximity of Coats. "Hey!" he yipped in surprise.

"Yeah," Daniel said in sympathy. "Walk towards me," he urged the Lieutenant.

Cautiously, Nixon moved forward, stopping when he reached Jackson with no shocks. "Okay," he 'murmured slowly. "Why change now?"

"Who knows. Maybe to keep us guessing," Daniel hypothesized.

"Yeah, well, all I know is that the temperature is dropping like a rock in here and Carter's got my coat," Walters whined from across the room.

"The temperature is indeed dropping O'Neill," Teal'c confirmed, watching as steam appeared with each word he spoke.

Crap, O'Neill mentally cursed. This wasn't what Sam needed. If it kept dropping at this rate, it was going to be a long, cold night for everyone.

"You can't expect the rest of us to sit around and freeze to death just so one person who we are probably going to have to leave here anyway, hogs all the coats,"  
Walters snapped, standing up to challenge O'Neill.

"We aren't leaving anyone behind," O'Neill snarled, spinning to take on the Major. He had about enough of this sorry excuse for a person.

"Major Carter can keep my coat, sir," Lieutenant Nixon said, interrupting the escalating situation. "It's the least I can do for her until we figure out how to get her back to the SGC, sir."

"Same here, sir," Coats agreed, not daring to look to at Major Walters.

"Teal'c, Daniel?" Jack threw out, not tearing his eyes from the subordinate he was going to take great pleasure in busting into pieces.

"I'm fine without it," Daniel pipped up.

"As am I," Teal'c agreed.

"To hell with you all. I want my coat back. One more coat isn't gonna make her live any longer," Walters growled, openly defying the others and ignoring their scathing glares at his selfishness.

O'Neill hadn't realized he had taken several steps towards the Major until Daniel suddenly appeared before him.

"Jack," Daniel called, blocking the Colonel's path and placing a restraining hand on his shoulder. "He's not worth it," he added quietly, squeezing his shoulder in understanding.

Battling with himself, Jack finally decided that he would deal with Walters later. Moving back a couple steps, O'Neill motioned to Coats. "Take Carter some water. And while you're there, get Major whiney-ass his coat."

Going over to Sam, Nancy realized that Walters' coat was the one under her head. Pulling one off her body, she folded it up and switched jackets as gently as she could. When Carter moaned, she winced. "Sorry, Major. Major Walters wants his coat back."

"Be sure to hand deliver it to him," Sam murmured quietly, slowly sipping at the water being held for her.

Unsure if the Major realized the shift in polarity or not, Coats grinned at the idea. The pain she would feel just might be worth it. "Yes, ma'am," she snapped standing upright when Sam indicated she didn't want anymore fluid.

Heading across the room, she saw the Colonel waiting for the coat. Pausing at a respectable distance, she looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "The Major said I should deliver it personally, sir."

Starting to remind the Lieutenant that she herself would be electrocuted, he read that she was fully aware of the implications of her statement in her face. Looking over Nancy's shoulder at Carter, he could see she was watching the interplay attentively.

Jack couldn't blame Sam for using the opportunity that had presented itself to extract a little revenge if that was what she was doing. And, although he had no proof of it at this time, he had no doubt that the young Lieutenant had been tormented also.

Not bothering to look at Coats, O'Neill said, "You have your orders, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir."

"Hey now..." Walters began springing up and moving instinctively backwards. He did not like the way this was playing out at all. Running into a solid form, he chanced a quick glance over his shoulder. The stone face of Teal'c stared placidly back at him.

"I believe you stated you wanted your coat," Teal'c reiterated. "Lieutenant Coats is bringing it to you. Have you changed your mind?"

Not answering the Jaffa, Walters pointed at the advancing woman. "Stop right there. That's an order."

"Sir, Major Carter ordered me to return your coat, sir," Coats snapped out in perfect military cadence.

"And I said stop right there," Walters snapped back. "You better listen to me..." he growled, the threat unspoken but still there.

Grinning openly at Walters' obvious discomfort, Coats decided she had better not push her luck too much. Rolling the jacket up, she tossed it to the officer.

Snagging the article of clothing, Walters paused in putting it on long enough to throw a 'I won't forget this' glare at the young woman.

Seeing the silent reprimand and promise of retribution, O'Neill stepped forward again. "Lieutenant Coats, would you check on Carter again?" he asked. When Coats started to move away with a murmured "yes, sir" O'Neill continued. "Coats, don't hesitate if she gives you another order," he said, his eyes boring into Walters'.

Pausing long enough to glance at both O'Neill and Walters, who was no longer looking at anyone, Coats straightened. "Yes, sir," she said loudly, realizing that she no longer had to be afraid of the Major.

* * *

"Damn it," Jack snapped coming to his feet, as he realized that he had again been sedated. He was getting really tired of this. Looking around, he quickly saw that Daniel was no longer in the confinement area.

"Anyone see anything?"

"Over there...door," Sam coughed, pointing to the opposite wall before dropping her arm back to her stomach and pulling herself into a tighter ball. Closing her eyes, she tried to fight off the pain that was coursing through her.

Pausing only long enough for Coats to indicate that Sam was still conscious, Jack moved over to were Teal'c was running his hands over the wall. "Whatcha got?"

Leaning in, Teal'c could barely make out a line in the rock face. "I believe there is a door here," he said, continuing to run his hands around the edges of the portal.

"See if there's a latch or something to open it," Jack snapped.

Frowning in concentration, the Jaffa suddenly moved his hand back to a spot he had just passed. Pressing on the smooth area, he jumped backward as the door glided away from him, revealing a passageway.

Glancing back at O'Neill to tell him he was going through, Teal'c cautiously advanced. Moving down the short passageway, he came to an empty room that was obviously some sort of control center. View screens showed the confinement area and his teammates as Coats pulled Carter's arm over her shoulder and entered the doorway to follow Teal'c.

"I believe this is where they have been watching us," Teal'c said as the other five arrived.

"Wonder where they are now?" Coats asked nervously, looking around the room.

"Must of gotten tired of watching us sleep and gone to watch Dr. Jackson," Nixon offered bitterly.

"Walters, help Teal'c keep an eye out for those guys. Coats, Nixon, see what you figure out," O'Neill urged, nodding to the consoles.

Taking Sam's weight as Coats slid out from under her arm, Jack stole a look at her ashen face. He could see her eyes had the unfocused gaze of someone on the edge of slipping away. "Stay with me, Carter. That's an order," he said to her, turning her head so she had to look at him.

Struggling to fight off the darkness that seemed so appealling, Sam forced her mind to listen to the words being spoken and her eyes to focus on the face before her. "Yes, sir," she mumbled, telling her legs to keep her upright.

"I think we've got something here, sir," Nancy called out over her shoulder.

Nodding toward Teal'c, he handed Carter off to the Jaffa so he could move over to the console.

"From what I can tell," Coats said, pointing the display in front of her, "we're here. Doctor Jackson is here," she said moving her finger down a series of passageways to the opposite side of the complex. "And," she continued, her fingers flying over the console to alter the image slightly, "this looks like a door out."

"So, all we gotta do is get Daniel, get out there, and hike, god knows how far to the Stargate," Jack recapped memorizing the schematic before him. "Piece of cake."

"Two clicks," Nixon said from his console.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked.

"Two clicks," Nixon repeated. "To the Stargate if I'm reading this correctly," he clarified, nodding to the controls in front of him.

"Sweet," Jack murmured. "You find anything about our gear on there?"

Fingers moving, Nixon paused a minute before suddenly moving to a cabinet a short distance away. Opening it, he called, "Got them" as he began to pull guns and vests out.

* * *

"Hold it right there," Jack snarled pressing his gun to the neck of the closest alien. "Shut it down," he said looking at the simulation being played out for Daniel.

As the scene dissolved, Daniel found himself in the middle of a room with a grid pattern on the walls, ceiling and floor. Spinning in confusion, he saw several aliens and the SGC personnel on the other side of a window in the wall.

"Jack?"

"You alright?" Jack called out to Daniel.

"Yeah. How do I get out of here?"

Nudging the alien, he jutted his head toward Daniel. Easing his grip slightly, he let the alien reach for a button on the console. A doorway between the grid room and the control room swung open.

As Jackson came in, Jack thrust his head over his shoulder. "Get Carter," he ordered.

Moving quickly, Daniel disappeared for a few seconds, only to reappear with Sam. He was practically carrying her into the room.

For the first time, everyone saw fully the toll the ordeal had taken on her. The yellowish pallor of her drawn face spoke volumes to the sickness that had invaded her body.

Sensing the elevated tension and concern from the humans, the aliens began to click and hum.

Unnerved by the sudden change, the humans focused their attention back on the aliens. This seemed to elicit further nods and exclamations from the group.

Watching the weird interchange, it finally clicked for Daniel. "Emotions," he blurted out. "You're," he began, only to refocus his attention to Jack. "They're reacting to our emotions," he said.

"So, we're lab rats?" O'Neill snapped.

"Think about it," Jackson challenged. "Everything that has happened didn't hurt us but served to elicit some emotion. The shifting polarity of the force fields, the temperature changes, the virtual reality scenarios... they were all controlled factors to measure their effect on our interactions and our emotions."

"It would seem you are correct," Teal'c agreed, watching the reactions of the aliens to Daniel's words.

"Well, guess what," Jack snarled sarcastically. "Experiments over. Caput. Done. We aren't gonna play anymore so you might as well pack it in."

Watching as the aliens stilled and quieted down at Jack's words, Daniel seized on the opportunity. "He's right. You can't continue with us as subjects. We are aware of the purpose of the challenges now and you run the risk of us skewing the results." Holding his breath, he hoped that he was reading this situation correctly and these creatures truly were 'just' scientists running an experiment.

The SGC personnel received their answer in the form of an exterior door being opened behind them.

* * *

Rushing through the gate, O'Neill let out a sigh of relief. They had made it back. Easing Carter into the arms of the medics that met him halfway down the ramp, he continued to the bottom of the ramp to greet the General who was waiting for them.

"Welcome back," General Hammond said in reply to Jack's nod of greeting. Running appraising eyes over the personnel who had just returned, Hammond let the tension slip from his muscles. With the exception of Major Carter, the rest appeared to be unharmed. "What happened?" he asked Jack. "When you didn't check in I sent a team to look for you, but all they found was your camp."

"General, sir, it is a long story," Jack sighed. He appeared to be ready to say something else when he suddenly held up his hand. "Excuse me for a minute, sir."

Taking a few steps closer to the personnel taking the weapons from the returning travelers, Jack waited until Major Walters had turned over his gear and had started towards the door. "Major Walters," Jack called to halt his progress. When the Major turned reluctantly to face the Colonel, O'Neill looked past him and gestured to the MPs standing at the doorway.

"Airmen, escort Major Walters to the infirmary to be checked out and then to a holding cell," the Colonel ordered. "Keep him there while I make arrangements to have him transferred to Peterson for possible court martial." Looking at Walters, he added, "And trust me, there will a court martial."

"Court martial!?" Walters sputtered indignantly. "On what charges?"

"Assaulting a fellow officer, insubordination, conduct unbecoming an officer, dereliction of duty, sexual harassment," Jack paused as if contemplating if he was missing anything, before he perked up. "Oh, and just for being an asshole."

"You have no right...," Walters blustered looking past Jack towards the General. "Sir, Colonel O'Neill is obviously suffering some severe reaction to what we have been through. I can assure you..."

"Colonel O'Neill has both the right and the authority," Hammond said coldly, coming up to stand beside his second in command.

Spotting Siler coming into the gate room, Jack called to him. "Siler, take two airman with you and clean out Major Walters' quarters." Turning cold eyes back to Walters, he said, "I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you never set foot back on this or any other installation."

"I knew I should have taken you back on the planet," Walters snarled lowly, thrusting his face in O'Neill's.

Holding his ground, Jack looked in Walters' eyes. "Any day, any time."

"Airmen," General Hammond snapped at the MPs to move the Major from the gateroom. Waiting until they were out of sight, George turned to Jack. "I presume this is part of that long story?"

"Oh yeah," Jack sighed, finally allowing the tension in his body to ease.

* * *

"Excuse me, sir," the Sergeant said, coming into a halt in the conference room outside of the General's office. "Doctor Fraiser asked that I let you know that Major Carter seems to be responding well to the hemodialysis."

"She know why the drug built up in her blood and liver so much?" the Colonel asked the noncommissioned officer.

"She didn't say, sir." Receiving a nod of acknowledgement, the Sergeant left the room.

"Janet agreed with Teal'c earlier thought that whatever they were using to sedate us was binding with the protein marker in Sam's blood. Once it hit the liver, it was," Daniel paused, looking for the right way to put it. Giving up, he finally blurted out, "balling up...forming little clots. They blocked the liver ducts which is what caused Sam so much pain and made her so sick."

"And Doctor Fraiser thought that cleaning Major Carter's blood would help this?" Hammond asked cautiously, looking at the mission personnel in attendance for the debriefing.

Raising his hand and dropping it in a 'your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine gesture,' Jack added, "She thought that it would be the quickest way to at least stop more of it from building up in Carter's liver."

"She hopes that by decreasing the quantity of the medication in MajorCarter's system, the liver's natural screening ability will be able to compensate and cleanse the remainder of it," Teal'c said.

Nodding, Hammond understood. He hoped for everyone's sake that Janet was correct in her assessment and choice of treatment. Looking down at his notes, he had only one more question on his list. "Any idea on what drew these creatures to you in the first place?"

Darting a quick look at Jack and seeing the same conclusion on his face, Daniel cleared his throat. "Probably when Walters cornered Sam. She was pretty upset afterwards," he paused as he thought back to that night. "They may have been watching us and it piqued their interest."

"Lucky us," Jack said dryly, a large frown on his face also.

Deciding that the best thing for the remainder of SG1 was to allow them to check on their teammate firsthand, George gathered up the papers before him. "Jack, anything else you need to add to the mission report or to the log of events relating to Major Walters?"

Shaking his head, Jack flipped his own folder shut. "No, sir. Just let me know when I need to talk to JAG."

"I'm sure they'll be in touch," the General said confidently. "You're dismissed."

Stopping once he made it to his feet, George looked at the officers standing up. "Lieutenants Nixon and Coats, would you wait a moment, please? Jack, you too."

Waiting until Teal'c and Daniel had left the room, George stepped around the table to stand in front of the two young officers. "On behalf of the United States Air Force, and on a personal note, I wanted to apologize for subjecting you to the sort of mistreatment and degradation that you must have experienced while under Major Walters command. We," George said, gesturing towards Jack, "had heard rumors about his behavior, but could never substantiate it... until now."

"Thank you, sir," Nixon and Coats murmured in unison. Glancing at each other in silent communication, Coats cleared her throat before continuing. "Sir, if we can do anything... if you need us to testify..."

Smiling, Hammond appreciated the courage it took for them to make such an offer. Testifying in a court martial against a superior could ruin a career, even if it was the moral and correct thing to do. "Thank you both. I don't think it will be necessary, but I'll keep that in mind." Seeing the obvious relief spread through them, George nodded. "You're dismissed."

When they had left, George turned toward Jack. "Those two will make damn fine officers."

Smiling, Jack nodded. "Yes, sir. I'd have to agree."

* * *

Coming to consciousness, Sam listened to the sounds going on around her. From the muted tones, she guessed it was very late in the evening or early night.

She desperately wanted to believe that she really was in the infirmary. Trouble was, she had no way to confirm it was really the SGC or if the aliens had taken her and this was their illusion for her.

"Keeping your eyes closed isn't going to make me go away," Jack quipped dryly. He had spent a better part of two days waiting for her to wake and had heard the change in her breathing.

"Sir," Carter said, opening her eyes and greeting him. "Are we really...," she asked, a frown on her face.

"Yeah, we're really here," Jack said quietly. "Carried you through the gate myself. You been losing weight?" he added innocently.

"Nice of you to notice, sir," Sam threw back, a smile pulling at her lips. "Everyone else okay?"

Nodding, Jack replied, "Daniel and Teal'c have polished off half the commissary supplies, and Nixon and Coats are busy answering questions from the other new recruits as to what it's like to be off world, and with us." Jack's chest puffed up in pride.

Looking away from Jack, Sam swallowed. "And Major Walters?"

"In the brig at Peterson," Jack assured her, his features soft. "At best, he's looking at dishonorable discharge, at worst, confinement. Either way, he's done in the Air Force." Jack's voice had a satisfied tone to it.

Letting out the breath she had been holding, Sam relaxed. She really didn't want to see the guy put in prison, but he had no business being in the service.

"So, how much do you remember?" Jack asked quietly.

"Bits and pieces," Sam replied, a frown on her forehead. "Did you leave me at a village?"

Shaking his head, Jack looked down quickly at the floor before answering. "It was the illusion they gave you." He didn't add that they had also made her believe the villagers had died in front of her. If she didn't remember it, he sure wasn't going to remind her of it.

"Doc says you're gonna be here for a couple more days," Jack said, changing the subject. "When she lets you out of here, what do you say we go to some nice little place and do some fishing?"

Seeing a flash of panic on Sam's face, Jack tensed. "What?" he asked.

"I squared off on you... ready to attack," Carter said, mortification pouring through her body. "Sir, I can't tell you."

"Forget it, Carter," Jack interjected, cutting off Sam's apology. "You were sick and those guys had been messing with your head pretty bad. You were hurting and you were looking for someone to lash out out." A sardonic grin tugged at Jack's lips. "Can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in your place."

"Sir, that's still no excuse...," the Major started again.

"Ah, ah, ah," Jack admonished her, holding up his hands in a gesture for her to stop. When she stopped, he touched her arm to reinforce his words. "Forget it, Carter," Jack said reiterated softly. "I already have."

Looking into the Colonel's face, Carter read the truth of his words in it. He really did not hold the fact that she was a heartbeat from assaulting him against her. Gratefully, she decided that she would drop it for now, but vowed that she would find a way to repay him later. Instead, she picked up on his earlier question.

"Fishing, huh?" Sam said, smiling. "Does this 'nice little place' have feather beds, in-room whirlpools, a swimming pool, and tennis courts?"

"It could," Jack said innocently, knowing full well they were not thinking of the same place.

"Uh huh," Sam chuckled, not fooled by the false smile plastered on Jack's face.

"What?" Jack asked, mock indication that she didn't believe him in his tone.

Stifling a sudden yawn, Sam waived her hand in apology. "Sorry, sir," she said, when she finished. "Still a little tired."

Standing up, Jack squeezed her arm. "Get some rest. We'll talk about the fishing accommodations tomorrow."

Walking out of the infirmary, Jack let out a relieved sigh. They had made it through one more time. Nothing else mattered.

* * *

AN2: Hope you enjoyed!


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